Twisted Taco

publication date: Jul 24, 2008

 | 

author/source: Tim Altork and John Breech / STAFF

First Impressions
John: If I were a restaurateur, I would give my restaurant a name that made sense. For instance, I went to Taco Mac not too long ago expecting to find a bevy of tacos on the menu because, seriously, if I went to a place called Hamburger Mac, I would expect to find hamburgers. As we all know, Taco Mac has exactly one taco, although I suppose it’s two if you count soft shell and hard shell.

So I walked into Twisted Taco with one thought running through my head: “If they don’t have at least three different types of tacos on the menu, I am moving back to Cincinnati where we properly name our restaurants. And I’m never eating at another purported Taco restaurant again, unless it’s called Taco Bell.”

Well, let’s just say I’m not writing this from Cincinnati because Twisted Taco came through. It was tastefully decorated with deer antler chandeliers. Ray the manager/co-owner described Twisted Taco perfectly when he said something to the effect of “southwest, saloon-style American food.”

I don’t even know if that makes sense, but it sure did when Ray said it. Oh, and I should point out that you get chips and salsa to start your meal…for free. The salsa is homemade and splendid, but some might find it a bit spicy.

Tim: The only thing missing from the saloon atmosphere was the iconic swinging doors that you see in every western movie and Bugs Bunny cartoon set in the West. There is a wood motif complemented by the aforementioned chandeliers and a longhorn head fit for the taxidermy hall of fame.

They also have a row of booths with HD TV’s in each one and other larger TV’s throughout the restaurant so you can watch your favorite show on the latest technology in the rustic setting of the Old West.

Plus the bathrooms are labeled “John Wayne” for the men and “Mae West” for the ladies, which is quaint.

(If I ever own a restaurant I’m going to label my bathrooms “Rupaul” and “Boy George” and laugh as people go back and forth in confusion.)

Appetizers
John: If there’s one drawback to the menu at Twisted Taco, it’s the lack of appetizer options. Basically, if you don’t like nachos or chicken wings, you’re out of luck. However, I should point out that they have more nacho options than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have children. So if you like nachos, this place is your heaven.

Tim and I went with the Buffalo wings, but these weren’t your typical wings. Twisted Taco’s fajita wings are GRILLED, not fried or baked. I thought it was a typo on the menu because I have never even heard of grilled wings, let alone eaten them.

They were tossed in a fajita sauce that wasn’t too spicy. It’s an appetizer that the whole family can definitely enjoy.

Also, in my short time on this earth I’ve found that ladies are much more fond of a food if it’s grilled. So if you want to trick your wife or girlfriend into eating Buffalo wings (Not that I advocate ever tricking you’re wife or girlfriend or your mother for that matter), the fajita wings at Twisted Taco are the way to go. Oh and we also had a quesadilla, something I personally liked, but let’s hear Tim’s take on that.

Tim: The quesadilla was interesting. Remember the scene in “Office Space” when they’re handing out birthday cake and they come up one slice short, and Milton gets mad because all he wanted was a slice of cake? Then he threatens to set the building on fire.

That was me with the quesadilla. We had two cohorts join us for the review and the quesadilla was sliced four ways. I was the last to get a slice, but when I took a bite I realized that because of some disproportionate meat distribution, there was only a tiny dot of beef in my beef quesadilla. So it’s hard for me to tell you anything about it.

The wings were good though.

Entrées
John: Since we were at Twisted Taco, it was only natural that we experimented with several tacos. The taco selection is so extensive that I found myself happily overwhelmed. There were tacos with pork, beef, steak and chicken. It seemed like every edible animal on the earth had it’s own taco.

My personal favorite was the Buffalo Bill. It’s a taco that’s splashed with Buffalo sauce and then topped with tomato, lettuce and blue cheese or ranch. Sure it’s the opposite of healthy, but the taste makes it worth it. We also sampled the Baja, a taco made with tilapia and the Wyatt Earp, which is made with pork. The Baja was a little fishy tasting, but not terrible. The Wyatt Earp was topped with the freshest cilantro I have ever tasted, which made it great, but not as good as the Buffalo Bill.

On top of the tacos, we also tackled the ranch fajita and the Big Jake burrito. The burrito wasn’t as meaty as I would have liked, but it was still tasty.

Tim: There is a taco for any palate at Twisted Taco, but it appears that the selection is hit-and-miss. For example the Baja was a bit dry and basically forgettable. But they have another tilapia taco called the Alamo that I took home to my wife, and she loved it.

The Buffalo Bill was as flavorful as anything we have eaten, and the Wyatt Earp was just a step down from that.

And there is a wide selection, so at $2.50 each if you order three or four and one is not so good, it’s not going to wreck your whole meal. Plus if one doesn’t sell well, Ray told us they’ll just take it off the menu and replace it with something else.

Dessert
John: For dessert, we had the chimichanga. I’m glad we had it because chimichanga is one of my favorite words in the English language, although labeling it an English word is probably a stretch.

This dessert consisted of ice cream, whipped cream and tiny pizza pockets that were filled with cheesecake and caramel instead of pizza. It was a perfect mixture of flavors, not to mention it was something original, which is always a good thing for me.

Tim: Not much to add here. It was a delicious, original dessert with a large, shareable portion.

Final Impression
John: Since Twisted Taco doubles as a bar and because they have over 140 tequilas, I was compelled to return on a Friday night to check out the scene. It turned out to be as much fun as I had hoped. There’s a stage near the front of the restaurant for live music or a DJ.

It was the most eclectic crowd I’ve seen in awhile. As in, half the people there were in their 20’s and the other half were in their 40’s. It was like 30-year-old people didn’t exist. The drinks were moderately priced and staff was friendly, so there was never too long to wait for a drink at the bar. If you like tequila, tacos or anything else that’s “southwest, saloon-style American food,” then Twisted Taco is the place to go.

Tim: My overall experience was enjoyable, but my food experience wasn’t the best. Twisted Taco does a lot of things well (the chips and salsa come to mind), but a few things just didn’t fall right for me on this trip (the quesadilla).
That said, I would go back in a heartbeat. It’s a friendly, happening place and if you know what to order you’re going to have a great meal in an environment in which you can relax and have fun.